


The Color of the Future

by Takali



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Growing Up, Harry Potter Next Generation, Hogwarts, Sorting Ceremony, The Sorting Hat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 05:58:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10610703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takali/pseuds/Takali
Summary: Teddy Lupin, despite the tragic loss of his parents, is a happy and confident child. He's also inquisitive, clever and a touch arrogant, but don't say that to his face or he'll argue with you until you beg for salvation. Eh, we love him anyway.A series of oneshots of Teddy Lupin's life at Hogwarts and beyond.





	

Teddy walked up to the stool with ill-disguised impatience. The young Metamorphomagus had never seen the point of Houses, the clear favoritism of the elder Weasleys and his godfather towards Gryffindor constantly befuddling him. He for one didn’t much care where he’d end up; he was going to make friends in every House, and he intended to completely explore the castle and its grounds before his first year was through, House limitations be damned. He wasn’t desperate enough to be herded like a pack animal by some decrepit-looking hat. 

Before he’d really registered it, his behind had made contact with the aged wooden stool and the perpetually scruffy Sorting Hat had been placed on his head, almost entirely obscuring his vision of the Great Hall. He tried to will his bangs to curl up and lift the hat rim a bit, focusing on each turquoise tuft...

“Impatient, are we?”

Teddy was startled into attention by the sudden voice in his mind, fingers clenching the stool edges. Tentatively, he tried to answer back in kind, brow furrowed.

“Uhm, honestly I don’t really care which House I get into. I think I could fit into any of them. All I really want is to go sit at a table and meet the other kids. So, can’t you just choose a random House for me so I can go?” His stomach chose that moment to rumble uproariously, and Teddy, having been instilled by his grandmother with at least an elemental sense of decorum, was very glad the Hat didn’t have ears… it didn’t, right?

The Hat was silent for a few moments, before answering in a lower tone that felt a bit more serious than before. “You are not the first to question the validity of this tradition, young Mr. Lupin. Indeed, as the years pass, I hear more wizards and witches wondering whether they were sorted correctly, or if the sorting is doing more harm than good. I see in your heart, Mr. Lupin, and I can tell that you do not need a common House crest to feel at ease with yourself and others. But there are many, even much older than your eleven years, that struggle to understand that which you’ve already mastered. Sad as it is, many are born in families where they feel like strangers, where they feel they must hide their true selves. The four Founders created the Houses because they wanted to be certain that no student of theirs felt alone and lost. Even if the sorting can be inexact at times, and even though people do change with the passing of time, the feeling of belonging is something everyone should experience. Don’t you think so, Mr. Lupin?”

Teddy had stopped fiddling with his fringe and was now staring at the ornate wooden floor of the Great Hall, deep in thought. He didn’t really like the patronizing tone of the Hat, but its words had made Teddy think of Uncle Harry. He knew he’d grown up with some relatives that didn’t really like him, to the point where Harry considered the Weasleys his first true family. Had Harry felt alone and lost when he’d first set foot in Hogwarts? Had he been worried about fitting in, about finding friends? The man Teddy had known all his life was confident and kind, but, as the Hat had said, people changed over time. Would Harry be who he was today if he had not been placed in a House which would become his first family, the first place he felt he belonged? Was Teddy so lucky to have known all his life that people cared about him?

He was jostled back into reality by the Hat’s satisfied hum, a strange, deep sound. “My boy,” the Hat said joyfully, all previous seriousness evaporated, “I daresay this long thought route of yours has helped me reach my decision, at last! You may be a bit stubborn, but you are willing to learn and grow, and no better place to do that than…”

Teddy knew what was coming next, and trepidation bloomed in his chest. He steeled himself and drew a deep breath, as the Hat yelled its final decision for the entire Hogwarts population to hear:

“RAVENCLAW!”

**Author's Note:**

> As I've written in the description, I intend to make this a series of oneshots about Teddy's Hogwarts years, though they will probably not be in chronological order as this is more of an exercise for me to really start practicing my writing. If it wasn't painfully obvious, this is my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction and I'm not a native English speaker, so all feedback will be greatly appreciated. Cheers!


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